There are three guarantees in life: death, taxes, and the Sacramento Kings signing a center in free agency. Last year, they signed Dewayne Dedmon to a three-year, $40 million deal only to trade him and two second-round picks to the Atlanta Hawks in January. Ironically, that deal was reportedly made to put them in an optimal position to re-sign Bogdan Bogdanovic, who is expected to sign an offer sheet with the Hawks in free agency.

But I digress.

This year, the Kings have their eyes on another center: Hassan Whiteside. According to multiple reports, the Kings have interest in signing the 31-year-old center, however, the level of their interest depends on who you ask.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on “The Jump” the Sacramento Kings might have interest in Hassan Whiteside.

— Jason Anderson (@JandersonSacBee) November 20, 2020

The interest in Hassan Whiteside from the Sacramento Kings is real from what I’m told.

Could get very interesting very quickly in about 10 plus minutes.

— Carmichael Dave (@CarmichaelDave) November 20, 2020

To confirm, I have heard a rumor of Kings potential interest in Hassan Whiteside, as @WindhorstESPN just reported. Not sure how serious the interest is, but that rumors is out there.

— James Ham (@James_HamNBCS) November 20, 2020

Whiteside averaged 15.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per game in 67 regular season appearances for the Portland Trail Blazers last season. He also had the second-highest net rating on team behind Zach Collins, who played 1,718 fewer minutes than him in the regular season.

However, counting stats have never been a problem for Whiteside — it’s his overall impact that’s been called into question time and time again, and there’s no real reason to believe he’ll be more focused than he’s been in the past next season. What you see is what you get with Whiteside, and what you see isn’t always great.

Suffice to say, this would be a divisive first signing by Monte McNair, especially since Marvin Bagley III and Richaun Holmes are perfectly capable of soaking up the minutes at center. Hopefully this is just another rumor.